Consumer credit falls a record $11.1B
The drop in borrowing is more than three times analysts' estimates.
| Minimum payments only | |
| Fixed payments $ monthly |
|
| Debt-free deadline I want to pay off my credit cards in: years and months |
|
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. consumer borrowing fell more than expected in March, plunging a record $11.1 billion, a Federal Reserve report showed Thursday.
March consumer credit fell at an annual rate of 5.2% to a total of $2.55 trillion. This was the biggest percentage drop since December 1990.
February's decrease was revised to $8.1 billion from an originally reported $7.5 billion drop.
Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a $3.5 billion drop in consumer borrowing for March.
Non-revolving credit, which includes closed-end loans for big-ticket items like cars, boats, college education and holidays, dropped $5.7 billion, or at a 4.2% rate, to $1.6 trillion.
Revolving credit, made up of credit and charge cards, fell $5.4 billion, or at a 6.8% rate, to $946 billion in March. This compared with a revised $9.7 billion drop in February. 
-
Pam Koner helped strangers through the recession. How are they faring? More -
Cloud whitening and space Frisbees could slow global warming. What'll work? More -
5 metro areas where a family can afford a home -- and the 5 where they can't. More -
Shot during the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, some of the world's most influential leaders. More -
These workers fear that settling for a survival job could hurt them when hiring picks up again. More
